Question

Why is 1 position in naphthalene more reactive in electrophilic substitution

Answer 1

1–position is more reactive only when the electrophilic substitution is carried out under kinetic conditions.

Answer 2

Explanation:

In the electrophilic substitution, position 1 in naphthalene is more reactive that the position 2 because the carbocation formed by the attack of electrophile at position 1 is more stable than position 2 because of the resonance since it has 4 contributing structures.

On the other side, carbocation formed by attack of electrophile at position 2 has only 2 contributing structures. Therefore, alpha position/ position 1 in naphthalene is highly reactive in electrophilic substitution.